Deacons, Kestels, Hutchings and Williams’, Oh my!

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Today I started a project, an attempt to sort out all these Cornish families who seem to have intertwined, intermarried and generally made things difficult for my family research. I figured if I could take one of the lines back far enough, and then work all the branches forward, well, I might chip away at an old brick. I realize this might sound like just throwing more bricks at the brick wall, and I cannot say it’s not a daunting task.

I had hoped that going back to the early 1800s or late 1700s would be far enough. But some preliminary research in parish records and I can see I really need to go back to the oldest records accessible–the 1500s!

So this has me re-thinking my plan.

I am curious, though, as to why a mother would give the surname of her mother’s new husband to one of her sons…yes, I mean you Lucy Deacon (nee Kestle) naming your son William Hutchings Deacon. What the heck is up with that.

There are many instances, and these I can understand, of the woman’s maiden name being used as middle names for most or all of the children. That’s actually a bit of a helpful practice.

But then there’s Mary Kestel Hutchings, who appears to be marrying Thomas Williams Deacon in the mid-1800s…Kestel and Williams, Hutchings and Deacon, all had already married into each other for generations it seems. How many cousins are marrying cousins, and how close cousins?

“Howdy folks“, to quote grandma. For those of you not related to me, I am the keeper of all things family history for both sides of my family. I have been “doing” genealogy since I was about 10 years old, and even before as I listened to Nana’s stories of ... Continue reading →